What would you do if you found a child thrown in the garbage on Christmas Eve?

*note: this description is written using terms commonly associated with the film for optimization reasons

Tokyo Godfathers is the 2003 Christmas movie from Satoshi Kon (Paprika, Perfect Blue), following three homeless individuals, Hana, Gin, and Miyuki, as they find a child, which they name Kiyoko, in the trash on Christmas Eve. Hana, a transgender woman, wants to take care of the child, however Gin, an addict, and Miyuki, a runaway teen, believe they should turn Kiyoko into the police. After they discuss, Hana splits the difference, taking Gin and Miyuki with her on an adventure to find the child’s mother and analyze her situation, and make sure that it is both taken care of, and done so with love. As a former discarded child herself, she explains that she doesn’t want the same fate to befall another. A series of wild events occurs on this quest, taking the three unhoused individuals on a Christmas miracle journey, as they reunite with their respective families from this found family. Overall, this great film to watch from Satoshi Kon creates a meaningful story discussing family, care and love, and analyzing the self worth issues that come from our mistakes, and how all these form to both create, and solve complex situations. It ends on a hopeful note, explaining that there is no human worth throwing in the trash.

A video essay analyzing and discussing Satoshi Kon’s Tokyo Godfathers

0:00 Introduction
5:52 Part 1 | Hana
16:04 Part 2 | Gin
25:28 Part 3 | Miyuki
36:04 Part 4 | Family

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